Last night, my wife asked me if I've ever heard of Radiohead (a friend of her's went to the concert on Wed in Tampa). She was somewhat surprised when I said "yes" and that I even owned a few of their CDs (and MP3s...I didn't buy a hard copy of In Rainbows). So now she is all curious about this "new" band called Radiohead that her friend likes and whose CDs her husband owns. Now comes the kicker...

"Would I like them? What do they sound like? Who can you compare them to?"

"No" was my answer to the first part of the question. The second part...I couldn't really give an answer.

So, how would you describe Radiohead's music to someone who knows Coldplay and Maroon 5 and not much else when it comes to non-Country popular music?

I think it depends on what part of Radiohead's career you're talking about. If it's OK Computer, you can tell her they're the modern version of Yes. If it's The Bends, Coldplay's not a bad comparison - hell, a lot of modern arena pop bands rip that album blind. If it's In Rainbows, I don't think U2 is a bad comparison - or Muse, for that matter. For the electro stuff, you're on your own.

Or you could call them an arty indie arena rock band that tries to pretend it's not a prog band. I see your point, though - to their credit, they refuse to be nailed down.

By the way, I finally got around to listening to King of Limbs. Is it just me, or is it in the running for the most half-assed album released by a major artist?

King of Limbs grows on you after a while, but it does definitely have an air of Radiohead just being Radiohead and not seeming to have much investment in the proceedings.

That's why when it was first released everyone was scouring it looking for clues that it was really just the opening shot of a much bigger project - it was the first Radiohead album since people realized they weren't going to settle for being a one hit wonder following "Creep" that left the impression of "That's it? Really?" after the first listen.

None of which rules it out for the honor you suggested for it, but if you've only listened to it once, it really is an album that needs a few more listens to kick in. Still, even once it kicks in it's still really only a "Yeah, it's decent" than a "Wow, this great" - for me, anyway. It depends on how attached you are to Radiohead as a whole if you want to put the effort into it.

That may be the problem - I'm not particularly invested in Radiohead. The albums I cited are the only ones I own, and while I enjoy all of them, none of them are in my top 10, or 20, or probably even 100.

But since the TV show I work for is taping them next week, and reports of their tour say their sets are heavy on the last two records, it would behoove me to become more familiar.

slowly, too, my wife has been exposed to radiohead.
she has heard "little by little" on npr enough times to recognize and enjoy it, and 1-2 in rainbows tracks would be familiar/pleasant enough to her by now.

i often have the "basement" sessions videos running on the tv, and she's convinced Yorke is a junkie after seeing him perform in that setting.

i feel strongly that the missing element to KOL is actually the visual component. considered together, that half-assed feeling MT mentioned recedes, and i consider it an absolutely gorgeous (and carefully constructed) work.

Brad, I think you're right about it growing on you. I'm spinning it (well, streaming it) again, starting with "Lotus Flower," and not only do I like that song better the second time, but I think "Codex" and "Give Up the Ghost" are quite lovely. Maybe I'm not such a cranky old man after all.

Yeah, I'm listening to it right now myself. My main problem with every Radiohead album starting with Hail to the Thief is that I can never remember which title goes with which song.

I managed to get tickets to see them this Friday night in StL after all - I'd done a quick logo design (literally - I knocked it out in the space of a commercial break while watching Parks & Recreation) for some people who prefer to pay in tickets to the local arena because they have connections there rather than pay in cash and they actually scored a couple of Radiohead tix.

I haven't seen where the seats are yet, but I have no doubt they're probably pretty lousy - I set up a friend of mine with tickets from this source to take his wife to see TransSiberian Orchestra and they were right at the side of the stage and had a fine view of the speaker set up - but for five minutes work I'm not going to complain.